Pages 433-447
This page-by-page annotation is organized by sections, as delineated by the seven squares (sprockets) which separate each section. The page numbers for this page-by-page annotation are for the original Viking edition (760 pages). Editions by other publishers vary in pagination — the newer Penguin editions are 776 pages; the Bantam edition is 886 pages.
Contributors: Please use a 760-page edition (either the original Viking edition with the orange cover or the Penguin USA edition with the blue cover and rocket diagram — there are plenty on Ebay for around $10) or search the Google edition for the correct page number. Readers: To calculate the Bantam edition use this formula: Bantam page # x 1.165. Before p.50 it's about a page earlier; as you get later in the book, add a page.
Finally, profound thanks to Prof. Don Larsson for providing the foundation for this page-by-page annotation.
Page 433
433.32 "Der Feind hoert zu"
Not 'The listening enemy' but 'The enemy is listening', a warning not to speak carelessly.
Page 435
435.10 gunsels
Both of the meanings supplied by Weisenburger (a male homosexual and/or a gunslinger) also apply to a likely source for the Pynchon’s use of the word: the character Wilmer in Dashiell Hammett’s The Maltese Falcon and John Huston’s 1940 film adaptation, with Elisha Cook, Jr. in the role. wilmer.jpg (15758 bytes)
435.16 veronica
In bullfighting, a matador’s move with his cape similar to the one that Slothrop employs here.
Page 439
439.26 a nasal hardon here
Trudi’s invasion of Slothrop’s nose is a reversal of male pornographic fantasies of crawling into women’s vaginas, etc. The connections between the nose and penis have a long cultural history, including the novel Tristram Shandy and early works by Freud.
Cf. also, The chapter "In Which Esther Gets a Nose Job" in V..
Page 442
442.09 They are a Mutt and Jeff routine.
Mutt and Jeff were the tall and short friends featured in the earliest daily comic strip, begun in 1907 by Bud Fisher.
442.39-40 Irving Berlin medley
Page 445
445.22 I’m a Lombard
Although Greta evokes the geographical region, she may also be referring to film star Carole Lombard, the comic actress whose airplane crashed while she was on a war bonds tour during the war. Lombard had glamour as a star, although she is best known for roles in "screwball" comedies like Nothing Sacred (1937) and My Man Godfrey (1936) that undercut that image.
445.23 Close enough, sweetheart
Slothrop’s hard-boiled reply to Greta echoes the cynicism of film characters like those played by Humphrey Bogart.
Page 446
446.18 Wannsee
A popular beach, but also the location of the infamous conference on January 20th, 1942, where the strategy of the 'final solution' of the Jewish question was determined.
446 Hauptstufe
Appears to mean: the "pen where we keep the sacred cattle" in German, but there is disagreement. Fits sharply, Pynchonesquely, here.
Page 447
dog show...stud service
In Betty Freidan's best-selling feminist tract of the 1960s, The Feminine Mystique she mentions some bored, deeply unfufilled suburban wives with no outlet for their full intelligence and creativity, who did IT with their dogs.
Human-animal sexual encounters also happen in Against the Day.
Notice in this dream of Slothrop's, the key colors are violet and green. Colors heavily associated with certain 'emancipated' suffragettes in Against the Day.
| 1 Beyond the Zero |
3-7, 7-16, 17-19, 20-29, 29-37, 37-42, 42-47, 47-53, 53-60, 60-71, 71-72, 72-83, 83-92, 92-113, 114-120, 120-136, 136-144, 145-154, 154-167, 167-174, 174-177 |
|---|---|
| 2 Un Perm' au Casino Herman Goering |
181-189, 189-205, 205-226, 226-236, 236-244, 244-249, 249-269, 269-278 |
| 3 In the Zone |
279-295, 295-314, 314-329, 329-336, 336-359, 359-371, 371-383, 383-390, 390-392, 392-397, 397-433, 433-447, 448-456, 457-468, 468-472, 473-482, 482-488, 488-491, 492-505, 505-518, 518-525, 525-532, 532-536, 537-548, 549-557, 557-563, 563-566, 567-577, 577-580, 580-591, 591-610, 610-616 |
| 4 The Counterforce |
617-626, 626-640, 640-655, 656-663, 663-673, 674-700, 700-706, 706-717, 717-724, 724-733, 733-735, 735-760 |
Page 447
dog show...stud service
In Betty Freidan's best-selling feminist tract of the 1960s, The Feminine Mystique she mentions some bored, deeply unfufilled suburban wives with no outlet for their full intelligence and creativity, who did IT with their dogs.
Human-animal sexual encounters also happen in Against the Day.
Notice in this dream of Slothrop's, the key colors are violet and green. Colors heavily associated with certain 'emancipated' suffragettes in Against the Day.
